MSG SEED : of Hope
by Zero328
Summary: w00t, I've finally got a hold of the Astray MSV timeline. This means that I will soon revamp all the chapters to fit it in with everything thats official fingers crossed its accurate . That will happen, probably after I'm and done with University work
1. Hope revealed

At the graveyard of a beloved cousin, Regal stands quietly. Nicole Amalfi, the young pianist and a loyal friend, has died in war, protecting his nation at the age of 15. The war is not yet over, but many hearts have died along with the countless lost lives. In the midst of this pain, a young soul is being ignited, determined to stop this war which is causing everyone so much pain…

Regal leaves his cousin's graveyard in a dull mood, now is no longer a time for sitting and doing nothing, war has taken away his dearest cousin and best of friends; if he does not do something about it, he will regret it for the rest of his life. On the way home, Regal picks up a newspaper from the residential news agent, the headline of the day is "the theft from the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty (ZAFT) hangar has been linked directly to the Supreme Chairman of Plant, Seigel Clyne, and his daughter, the famous pop idol, Lacus Clyne." Apparently, when ZAFT enforcers tried to arrest the Chairman at his house, they found him dead, presumed suicide, and his daughter was nowhere to be found.

"ZAFT dogs, how well they make stories, they should all take up story writing, it's a waste for them not to," Regal says to himself. As he continues his journey home, Regal thinks about how Miss Clyne would try to escape. _She would only be safe outside PLANT territories, that means she must find some sort of hidden transport that could out-run military vessels, but what could possibly out-run the vesalius?_

"Whatever it is, it must be in Armory One!" Regal exclaims out loud. Everyone around him stares at him with weird eyes. "Sorry, got a little excited..." Regal says embarrassed. Regal finally gets home; instead of shutting himself in for hours like he has done for the past month, Regal packs his bag as if he was about to go camping. "I'm going out for a few days mom!" Regal shouts downstairs.

"Where're you going?" Regal's mom replies. To the sweet, but worried, voice of his mother, Regal stays quiet for a few moments and finishes packing his bag. He runs downstairs where his mom looks at him anxiously. Feeling awful inside, Regal has to find a way to stop his mom from worrying before he takes the most daring decision of his life.

"Don't worry mom, I'm going over to Derek's for a few days. I can't stay like this forever." Regal replies with a weak smile

"OK dear, take care. Don't go for too long though, I'll miss you..." Regal's mom says hesitantly. As she does so, Regal heads for the door. Regal takes the bus to the station nearest to the military hangar; everything seems normal. They must be getting ready, Regal thinks to himself. Sneaking around to the back entrance, Regal takes out a tube and a few darts. Science has proven its worth; he has produced his own tranquilizer and made darts which can easily knock out anyone and he can even calculate the amount needed each time and adjust the volume accordingly. From the bushes, Regal shoots the darts at the 2 guards. It is a perfect shot. They fall like flies. Regal emerges from his hiding place and retrieves his darts and gains a bonus of one machinegun. Regal is ready, he would persuade Miss Clyne to take him along and teach and allow him to pilot a mobile suit.

Inside the hangar, Regal is beginning to wonder if he will turn out as successful as he thought; the place is huge and workers are everywhere. Regal slips around each corner swiftly in hope that no one would notice him but all is in vain. Someone taps Regal on the shoulder and makes him turn around only to meet a pistol aiming for his forehead.

"Who are you? Wha..." That is all the young lady in standard green uniform can say before she falls to the ground, much like the 2 guards by the entrance. Regal realizes that he can't just leave her there, she would be noticed and he would get caught. Finding a room, he quickly hacks the door open and drags the girl inside. The door shuts and all goes dark. Regal fumbles for the switch, locating it a few minutes later. What meets his eyes is his dream and something a civilian can only wish for: two rows of mobile suits. Snapping back into reality, Regal suddenly remembers that the tranquilizers are going to wear off soon. At the same time the sirens go off. Regal is startled. Reacting quickly, he grabs the girl and gets onto a lift. Frantically pushing random buttons, the lift suddenly lifts him up to the cockpit of a mobile suit, surprising him, so much so that he almost falls off. After a few minutes of sitting on the lift, as Regal realizes that the siren is not because of him, a thought strikes him. Miss Clyne's taking action!

"Damn! How will I even catch up to her if she's about to leave?" Looking into the cockpit, Regal is about to dare himself for the second time in one day. Taking the girl with him into the mobile suit, Regal sits in the pilot seat. Switching the mobile suit's Operating system (OS) on, Regal hurriedly searches for a user's manual of any sort. From skipping around windows of the OS, Regal learns the name and weapon list of the mobile suit he was in before finally stumbling onto the controls. What he is in is the latest mass-produced MS in the ZAFT military, the GuAIZ. By this time, the sirens have stopped. A nearby explosion causes the outward wall of the room Regal is in to tear open, and begins sucking out everything in the room, including the GuAIZ Regal is in. _I didn't know that I was so close to space!_

Regal quickly switches on the cameras and sensors thus activating the mobile suit, stopping it from flying out into space at a damaging rate. Aiming its beam claws sluggishly, Regal gets the GuAIZ to destroy all the obstructions. Tearing out of the PLANT itself, Regal, for the first time of his life, sees stars through his own eyes and the largest amount of space one could see. The bewilderment makes him forget his purpose and the danger he was in, from both inside and outside the GuAIZ. The girl he had dumped behind the pilot seat has finally woken from the drugs and the MS's that have gathered to stop the escaping battleship causing the chaos have taken notice of him. Snapping back to reality, Regal realizes half the trouble he is in.

"Oh no. This can't be good. You can't be serious. I'm NOT going to die here!" Regal instinctively snaps into action as a pink battleship emerges from the smoke its beam-cannon has caused. The young officer in the back gets up and rubs her head in pain. "What happe... What have you done?! What are you thinking?! Do you know what you are doing?!" the girl says in a worried and frustrated manner; pushing Regal's head out the way, the girl reaches for the com-link.

Regal stops her and hushes her before he inefficiently boosts towards the escaping battleship and tries to dodge incoming attacks at the same time. "How can I communicate with that battleship? We need to get aboard it." Regal asks as if they weren't enemies, blocking rifle bullets that are being shot at him.

"What 'we'? I have no intentions of going anywhere!" The girl proclaims, but she is sharply cut off by Regal.

"I do, and you don't have a choice but to go along with me. Those units see us as an enemy and will shoot us down, given the chance. I want to meet Lacus Clyne as well, and I have every reason to believe she's on board that ship,"

"What, Lacus Clyne is onboard this battleship?" the girl replies again in surprise.

"Hurry, or we'll never catch it, unless you want to be killed along with me in here!" Regal says in a threatening tone. Reluctantly, the young girl pushes a few buttons and the screen above the camera monitors turns on, showing a single eyed man and the pink haired songstress herself.

"What's this, a transmission from a new model that hasn't even been fielded yet, and a civilian in the pilot seat?" The single eyed man says.

"Aren't you… that supposedly amazing commander, the Desert Tiger?! Never mind that, we request to board your ship, as this idiot of a civilian here has thoughtlessly stolen a mobile suit and dragged me into this mess with him… Since this suit is stolen, I can't return to PLANT without potentially being charged for treason, please allow us to board." The girl says, obviously troubled by the situation she is in, as Regal busily continues his attempts to dodge attacks coming in from near all directions.

"Please! I've never piloted a mobile suit before! I can't last long out here!" Regal interrupts as he continues to fiddle busily at the controls.

"Okay... I'll believe you, I'll slow down slightly so you can catch up, hang onto the turret and I will retrieve you two once we get to a safer position." Miss Clyne says calmly. The pink battleship begins to slow down slightly and the GuAIZ catches up with it as quickly as possible, on its way, closing up to an enemy and destroying its head. Once he catches the battleship's turret, the battleship maximizes its thruster output and speeds away from PLANT air space safely, its speed unmatched by any other battleship produced to date. The ZAFT mobile suits can do nothing to stop the escaping ship; all the pilots can do is stare in amazement, as the battleship's thrusters' flames grow smaller and smaller until they finally disappear as if the ship is just another star in the many that they can see.


	2. A Tiger's confrontation

Having caught onto a secure spot on the Eternal's turret, Regal lets out a relieved sigh and gets out the manual for the GuAIZ he has found in the hangar and begins studying it, all the while ignoring the presence of an annoyed young woman complaining behind his seat. After only what seems to be a few minutes, The Eternal begins to slow down again. A pinkish unit launches from the battleship and approaches them. A transmission comes through as it does so. "This is Kira Yamato. I will be escorting you back into the Eternal. Please co-operate to the best of your abilities." There is surprise in his voice as he sees Regal. The white unit gets closer and takes hold of the GuAIZ that Regal and the young female ZAFT officer are in. The girl quickly recognizes the unit.

"Isn't… Isn't that the ZGMF-X10A 'Freedom'?!"

"Who cares? It's a strong unit right? I'm glad it's on our side for that." Regal replies unwittingly

"Stop saying 'we' as if we were together! Remember, you kidnapped me, I am not here by my own free will!" the girl snaps back. The unit shakes as it lands in the hangar, surprising the girl slightly; she embraces the pilot seat for protection.

"Looks like it's time to go!" Regal says without regard to the troubled girl behind his seat. He switches off the unit and opens the cockpit hatch. Regal gets out of the GuAIZ and begins to float towards the flooring in the hangar, the girl following closely behind, staring frantically around at the crew which has gathered around the unexpected visitors, as if they were barbarians. As they land, a gap begins to form as the crowd makes way for the single-eyed man they saw during their request to land.

"Welcome aboard the Eternal, the prototype ZAFT escort ship which is now under the command of the Clyne Faction. I must congratulate you on your effort to join up with us. It is a great feat for children like you two. I am Andrew Waltfeld, also known as the 'Desert Tiger'. Now, what're your names?"

"I'm Regal Asuka, and she's… Well, I don't know who she is!" Regal can't help but burst into a small giggle. The girl stamps heavily on Regal's foot, making him jump around in pain, before stepping forward to introduce herself in a proud manner.

"I am Sgt. Rain Serena, 16 years of age. I'm a test pilot in ZAFT." She boasts as if anyone aboard the ship hearing that should be instantly frightened. It takes Rain a few seconds before realizing that no one is actually afraid of her because of what she said and shrinks back slightly. Andy steps forward seeing her hesitation.

"So tell me, Ms Serena, if you are so proud of your status in the ZAFT military. Why are you here now? Why have you brought us this unit, which has not even been officially fielded yet?" Andy says in a demanding fashion as he towers over Rain, making her shrink even further into her non-existent shelter.

"I was knocked unconscious by that idiot over there… By the time I regained consciousness, I was in the GuAIZ without any apparent escape routes." Rain's reply is weak as she points at Regal.

"Hm… Now that wasn't very nice of you was it, Regal?" Andy shoots Regal an accusing eye. Regal feels a shiver down his back and gives his answer not daring to delay.

"I didn't know what to do at the time, the alarms sounded and I thought they had noticed me." Regal stares down guiltily.

"Well, what's happened has happened and there is nothing we can do about it. So tell me Rain, are you willing to join us in a struggle for peace on both Earth and in Space?" Andy asks, turning back to Rain. Rain takes a few moments to herself to think of her current position.

_If I don't go along with it now, I might never get the chance to escape… I guess I'll have to find a chance to escape later, but I don't want to fight against ZAFT, I might be charged with even more crimes when I return to them…_ "I will co-operate, though I do not want to be involved in battles against ZAFT, since I want to return to them if I can." Rain finally replies.

"That will be possible if you swear on your life that you will not give them information about us." Andy says decisively. "Now all that is out of the way. What I really want to know is how you knew we would make an escape today? We were extra careful NOT to let anyone know of our plans." Andy says suspiciously at Regal, without giving Rain a chance to speak further.

"Well, actually, I didn't! I just thought that Miss Clyne would be making an escape and infiltrated the Armory upon deciding it. I guess I wasn't thinking straight at the time." Regal replies honestly. Andy is not fully convinced but is content with the answer. Suddenly, someone from behind the crowd shouts out.

"That's suicide! How can you act simply on your instinct?" The crowd makes another gap and this time, Athrun walks through the given space. As Athrun sees Regal, he is surprised by the resemblance Regal holds to a dear and lost friend of his.

"Chill out! Like I said, I wasn't thinking. A lot has gone on recently and I'm not in top form." Regal argues back sharply. As he was going to continue, Rain interrupts.

"You are Athrun Zala, right? Are you related to Chairman Zala?"

"Uhh… Yes." Athrun replies in surprise of the sudden attention he is receiving.

"I think that's enough chat for now. Remember, Athrun, we are still in yellow battle condition right now. Regal, you plan on piloting this beauty don't you?" Andy says with fascination.

"Yes. I want to, but I'm ok if you give it to other people, since I'm not exactly someone who has piloted a Mobile Suit before." Regal says shyly.

Andy bursts into laughter whole-heartedly. "Your bravery doesn't just end does it? Well, I guess its ok. Athrun, would you mind tipping him off a little bit? From what I saw when they caught onto our ship, he's not just all guts. There are some brains in there; he'll make a good ally pilot."

"Ok" Athrun replies to Andy's request reluctantly and turns to Regal. "Well, if I'm going to turn you into a pilot, the first thing you would need to learn is to not act before you think. Each action has its consequences, and if you are working alongside an ally, you may affect him or her as well and get yourselves killed, do you understand?" Athrun continues in a heavy and deeply serious manner. Regal gulps.

"Yes sir. My actions will affect the outcome of the whole battle, and not just my own safety. I will make my best effort to recognize this fact every time I engage in battle." Regal tries to act as seriously as he can; sweat drops down his cheek as a sign of the effort he is putting in. Rain cannot help but giggle to herself when she sees his sudden change in attitude. "What's so funny?" Regal barks sharply, annoyed at Rain's disrespect.

"Nothing," Rain replies as she struggles to stop her outburst of giggles. The crew in the hangar begins to return to their jobs as what is going on no longer amuses them. Within half an hour, Athrun has explained all the basics that Regal needs to know, with the help of the manual Regal found earlier. Rain is also constantly criticizing heavily on Regal's points of view on each matter. Athrun then searches on the GuAIZ OS for a simulation program and finds it with relative ease. Linking the GuAIZ to a monitor outside the unit, he orders Regal to run through the simulation to see if he is ready for combat. For the first two times, Regal gets shot down by enemy Mobile Armors, the Moebius, within a minute of launching and gets out of the cockpit only to face Athrun's scolding and Rain's teasing. As he continues to try, he gets better every time and within another hour, he clears the training, although it was not perfect.

"You know, I think you have got a lot of potential, Regal. If you get some real experience, you may even be better than the average 'Red Coats' with ZAFT." As Athrun says this, it triggers memories in Rain's brain and it takes her back to the time when she was in the ZAFT military school.

_Suffering hard days in order to achieve the best grades to impress those who thought girls weren't made for the military. She also had a secret that she told no one about when she was in there. She had a crush on another trainee in her class, a high achiever within the class, Jeffrey Dillians. He often encouraged her when she was about to give up in her extra hours of training and cared greatly for her during classes. The day of their graduation came and they both achieved highly; whilst Jeffery made it into the elite 'Red Coats', Rain missed it by a very, very small margin. Due to such an occurrence, they were split into two different departments when assigned. Jeffery was sent to Jachin Due, and Rain was sent to the development department as a test pilot. Although Rain spent a few weeks sulking over the chance to get her dream guy, Rain soon adapted to her new job and enjoyed it a lot. She participated in the production of the ZGMF-X08A to ZGMF-X11A units and tested the GuAIZ. Then came today, the day when this devil of a loser no older than herself kidnapped her, and brought her aboard this ship, in which she met Athrun._

At this moment, Rain blushes, absorbed in her thoughts. Regal, noticing, creeps up behind her back and frightens her with a small shout. "What are you thinking? Why are you blushing? Are you thinking something dirty, Rain?"

"Wha…" Rain jumps a little as she snaps out of her thoughts. "Why you little…" Rain shouts at Regal with a red face and right fist waving loosely in the air. Rain begins to chase Regal around the hangar and Athrun and the crew laugh at them.

Suddenly, the alert signals light up and sound; through the com-link comes a hurried male voice. "The Eternal is now entering Jachin Due Air-space, signals on the radar indicate that an interception force has been deployed to stop us. Battle status condition: Red has been issued effective as of now. Any pilots are to launch in their respective units immediately. I repeat, battle status condition: Red has been issued!" Rain, which has now got Regal in a headlock, loosens her grip. Regal takes the chance and rushes towards the GuAIZ as a pilot in blue uniform heads to the Freedom and enters the cockpit. As the unit starts up, a transmission comes through from the hangar

"Your objective and priority is to protect this ship and stay alive. Remember what I said before about your actions, and don't go where you can't be aided."

"Understood." Regal's reply is short and serious. Regal sees the Justice being moved out of the hangar into the catapult before the airlock shuts it out. A rumble and a long roar can be heard as the Freedom is sent off into battle. "Who's that Athrun?"

"That's Kira, an old friend of mine, I'll introduce you to him later." Athrun says in a rush, as the GuAIZ starts to shake like it did when it first landed and Regal sees himself moving towards the catapult as the Freedom did. In a matter of minutes, Regal begins to experience G forces that almost black him out. Before he realizes it, he is again in the vast emptiness of space, but this time, he can see an object in the distance: Jachin Due.

Rain finds herself standing alone in the hangar all of a sudden, although technicians and mechanics rush around her, preparing to repair any recovered units as quickly as possible. She suddenly feels alienated. _I don't belong here, I should go back to ZAFT…_She absent-mindedly throws herself towards a CGUE, which happens to be free due to the lack of pilots, and enters the cockpit. Several mechanics shout at her to see what she is doing, but no words get through to her. She is inside, the cockpit hatch closes, and the unit boots up…


	3. Breakthrough!

Regal's GuAIZ launches from the Eternal into the vast emptiness of space. The G force he experienced from the launch is only beginning to wear off when Regal sees a group of about 7 mobile suits approaching from Jachin due, which only appears as a small stone floating in front of them. Regal approaches the Freedom in his GuAIZ and establishes a com-link with Kira. "So how should we deal with this? Their numbers surpass us."

"You take them as they come and try to draw them away from the Eternal. I will attack them from the right flank and cut off re-enforcement." The transmission breaks and Kira moves away from Regal and the Eternal in preparation to attack their flank and disappears soon after. The GuAIZ moves forward to meet the opposition slowly, allowing Regal time to think of how he should go about drawing their attention off Athrun so his attack from the flank would deliver a surprise to their enemies.

_The Eternal should be on a full defense position. I'll lead them to face the left side so Kira will come in from behind them. Hopefully, with the Freedom's superior speed, this should be an easy battle. _Regal speeds up in the GuAIZ suddenly as he gets closer to the opposing group. One of the monitors in front of Regal indicates that there are eight units in the opposition currently in deployment, all of them are moving towards Regal. One of the units near the back of the enemy line on the radar gives off a different signal then the others. Regal contacts Kira again, questioning him: "Why is that unit on the radar different to the rest?" Regal sends the data to Kira as he does so.

"Ah, that's because it's a different model. The common ones are GINNs and that one is the CGUE. That should be the commanding unit." Kira replies and breaks the com-link again.

_So if I take it out, the enemy should be launched into chaos immediately! But if it is the commanding unit, then that means its pilot will be skilled and well experienced, not to mention all his minions who will surely help him out if he begins to lose. I'll rush them and destroy as many of them as I can. Our escape must be ensured! _Regal suddenly picks up his acceleration rate and rushes at the group of GINNs. The units Regal charges towards flinch at first, as the GuAIZ is a superior unit to theirs and it suddenly picked up speed, but before Regal reaches them, they pull their acts together and charge back at the isolated enemy. Upon closing the distance between them considerably, Regal sways the GuAIZ to the right and deploys the beam claws on its shield. Sheltering the cockpit and having the claws extending further than the GuAIZ's body, Regal moves the whole body of the GuAIZ forward slightly wide from an enemy unit, slashing through its cockpit from the side before it could, moving away as it explodes. Regal stops the GuAIZ's thrusters and lets the unit float backwards as if to challenge the group to get him. A sweat sails down Regal's cheek. One GINN begins to charge at him. The action did not receive approval from the rest of the group as they hold back to observe Regal's performance. The GINN closes in on Regal at a slower rate than when Regal destroyed its ally, but the GuAIZ stays still until the moment the GINN makes a gesture to attack; the GuAIZ ignites its thrusters again and moves further back, launching its extensional arrestors at the GINN's arm, which is grabbing for the heavy sword, and destroying it. During the time the GuAIZ is motionless, it is not challenging the group, in fact, he is slightly shocked by the fact that a life was taken away by his own hands. The CIWS system on the GuAIZ suddenly bursts into life, destroying the head of the attacking GINN. Using the beam claws again, Regal destroys its other arm as well, rendering his opponent incapable of further battle. Regal leaves the pilot alive, his conscience attacking him with guilt for taking the life a human being. As Regal begin to recover from the shock, two more units appear on the screen, one is the Freedom appearing from behind the remaining opposition as Kira said he would, and another approaching at full speed from the direction of the Eternal. The new unit's signal is the same as that of the commanding unit of the enemies in front of him. Regal's mind sets back to about half an hour ago. _Regal got out of his cockpit after finally successfully completing his exercise. He looked around merrily and there stands a grey unit with slight resemblance to his GuAIZ._ The remaining 6 enemies systematically divide into three groups of two to counter the ambush. The commanding CGUE and another ordinary GINN head in Kira's direction, another two GINNs head off towards their most inferior enemy, the incoming CGUE. Left behind to square off against Regal are another ordinary GINN and a GINN that is painted in a slightly darker and more menacing colour.

Kira closes in, seemingly unnoticed, on the point where the enemies are indicated on hios radar. From his camera, he had noticed how Regal was able to destroy a GINN and then immobilize another. _Impressive, although I can understand why he left the second GINN's pilot alive. The rookie is still after just a rookie._ Concentrating, he moves further forward before charging directly for the fighting group. A transmission suddenly comes through from the Eternal. "Rain has taken our remaining CGUE and left. I believe she is trying to return to ZAFT. If she doesn't do anything out of order, let her go, but if she attacks either of you two, do not leave her alive."

"Roger." Kira's reply is short. He knows that the safety of the ship will fall into his hands, and the amount of hostility Rain will hold against them. As the transmission terminates, Kira notices a change in the enemies' formation. _Not bad, they've finally taken notice of me. But now, it is too late. Judging from how easily that boy was able to disarm them, I presume that they should be fresh from training, still new. I believe they have a 'red coat' or two amongst them though. _Kira's last thought comes through as he notices the different GINN that remains in his original post to face off against Regal. Kira speeds up the Freedom to confront his two opponents. "I get the leader, huh? I guess I expected it." Just then, the CGUE he was warned off appears on the radar. _It looks like she forgot her white flag… I'll have to deal with her later._ Kira focuses on the two approaching units. The GINN rushes him and begins to fire its machine gun. The Freedom dodges with ease and stops in front of them. Taking a beam rifle from its rear skirt armor, the Freedom shoots at the heads of the units approaching him. The GINN is too slow and gets hit, leaving it incapable of further combat. The CGUE dodges it with ease due to the pilot's experience. Backing away slightly, Kira anticipates the CGUE charging through the explosion. The CGUE is, however, stationary and still where it was from before the explosion, now wielding its beam rifle in one hand and heavy sword in the other. _The pilot is obviously a veteran. He is able to stop himself from doing what many hotheaded pilots would. The opposition knows his unit well; he is relying on experience and skill…_ Kira deploys his beam sabers and prepares to rush the CGUE who has little, if any armor, to defend against beam weaponry. The CGUE starts to back away firing its beam rifle, restricting Kira's movement. Oppressed by the vastly superior experience of his opponent, Kira begins to feel frustration. He looks to see how Rain and Regal are doing and sees Rain dodging the rounds from the two GINNs almost continuously, unable to close in on the enemy. Regal and his two opponents are not moving. With almost all weapons deployed, the side that moves first is bound to take higher casualty. Kira is forced to return to his battle when the CGUE begins to target critical areas on the Freedom. As Kira dodges, he closes in on the slowly retreating CGUE. _He will run out of energy for that rifle soon. I will just have to wear him down._ Kira loops around the CGUE blocking it off from help and forcing it to go further and further away from main battle.

On a GINN's monitor, the GuAIZ is ready, having its beam claws flaring and the other arm out wide. The pilot's breathing is hard, but not struggling. A pilot suit is indeed suffocating when you wear it for a long time. A transmission comes through from the regular GINN next to it, which is also not moving. "Let's attack, Jeff! How long do you want to stay like this? From the way he killed off Toni and disarmed Greg's GINN, I'd say he's a newbie. We can take him. Especially now, since we know all his tricks!"

"No. Even if he is a newbie, he was still able to kill and disarm them with relative ease. That unit is superior to ours, you can't expect to win." The pilot's replies calmly. As he speaks, he continues to look for ways to subdue his opponent.

"If you're too scared, then I'll do it alone!" The transmission ends immediately and the GINN beside him begins to rush the GuAIZ with heavy sword in hand. The pilot chases after his ally but is too late to save him.

"You leave me no choice!" Regal's eyes narrows as he speaks silently to his opponent. The GuAIZ raises its beam claws and detaches the heavy sword's blade from its hilt as well as most of the GINN's forearm. The forcibly detached blade floats pass the GuAIZ as it counter-attacks the GINN with its extensional arrestor. The only thing that the pilot behind could see was its ally's GINN being cut through by its power plant and thrusters and the extensional arrestors heading straight for him as the GINN in front of him explodes. The force of the explosion knocks the extensional arrestor off course before pushing his unit back. The pilot is in shock. "Jeremy!" he shouts. He commands his GINN to retrieve its heavy assault machinegun from its rear skirt armor, takes aim at the last position he last saw the GuAIZ. Without waiting for the smoke to clear, he fires at the target. The GuAIZ dodges left and right on his monitor as the smoke clears away from his assault path, its shield is taking heavy damage as it gets hit occasionally. Driven by his anger, the pilot soon drains the GINN of its precious ammunition. Sensing that he has lost now his only means of protection is gone; the GINN turns around and heads towards the opposing CGUE, who is being well occupied by his friends. _If I can't deal with the GuAIZ, then I will make its pilot feel what I am feeling now._ The GINN deploys its heavy sword and rushes towards the CGUE who is not returning fire at his allies.

In the CGUE that launched from the Eternal, Rain hastily toggles the control to prevent herself from being shot down. She impatiently waits for a gap between their volleys of bullets so she can tell them why she is there. Soon the GINNs become exhausted of their ammo and begin to reach for their heavy swords. Rain quickly switches on the com-link system to contact her opponents. "I am not your opponent! I was kidnapped on that ship and I want to return to ZAFT, please cease your attacks!" Rain pleads sincerely but no response returned. Instead, the two GINNs begin to thrust towards Rain's CGUE with every intention to take the kill for themselves. Realizing that her efforts were useless, Rain deploys her heavy sword and ignites her thrusters to meet the unwelcome opponents head on. In a swirling motion tending to the left, Rain slices off both hands of the GINN on the left as she flies past them both. Turning as quickly and sharply as possible, she returns from behind the still operational GINN and completely slices off its sword-wielding arm. "Please listen…" As she tries to convince them again, she is interrupted by an alert from the first GINN's direction. Another GINN approaches at considerable speed with a heavy sword in its hand. Rain's CGUE backs up as quickly as possible as the GINN gets into attacking range and slashes. As Rain's shield is destroyed and floats away from her, she quickly recognizes the custom color of the unit. Lifting her sword in reaction, Rain blocks the GINN's next slash. Establishing the com-link with that specific unit Rain starts to reason with the pilot in that GINN. "Is that you Jeffrey? It's me Rain! Please stop attacking me!"

"Rain?! Why are you with the traitors? Why are you betraying us?" Jeffrey replies with surprise in his voice.

"I didn't, they kidnapped me! I am in this unit to return to you!" Rain continues to convince her friend. "Let me back into the base! Please!"

"I won't trust you ever again. I can't let you live for betraying us!" Jeffrey says appearing to be deeply hurt by Rain's assumed betrayal. Pulling back momentarily, Jeffrey catches the CGUE off guard and slashes off its sword-wielding arm along with its shoulder. "Rest in peace my dear!" Jeffrey shouts as he makes his final slash, intending to destroy the CGUE completely. Two beam shots come from the right of the CGUE and hit the nigh victorious GINN, one shot piercing both its hands and the other tearing off its head. "Argh!" Jeffrey groans loudly as his GINN takes the direct hits and tumbles away from the CGUE by the force caused by the GINN's exploding parts. Rain looks in the direct of the beams' origin and finds the Freedom approaching at medium speed, behind it further away, was a grey figure, floating but not moving.

"Are you alright? I don't think you can return to ZAFT anytime soon." Kira's voice comes through to the CGUE's cockpit.

Rain bursts out into tears in her cockpit, heartbroken that her most beloved should try and deliver a fatal attack to her in battle and not trusting her. Kira takes hold of the CGUE and begins to move back towards the Eternal, which is a considerable distance away, but moving towards them. Just then, a unit that looks remarkably similar to the GINNs they faced shoots out of Jachin Due. It begins to take aim at the retreating Freedom but is instantly pulled off course by an extensional arrestor, which clamps onto its waist and threats to crush the cockpit.

"Get out if you want to live!" Regal shouts in excitement.

"Regal! What are you doing?" Athrun shouts at him through the com-link from the Eternal. The cockpit of the threatened unit opens and a pilot flies out deserting the now captured unit.

"I like this thing, it looks cool, and so I'm going to take it by force!" Regal replies in a rather playful manner. The Eternal catches up to them and slowly begins to pass them. The Freedom flies slowly towards the hatch at the base of the Eternal with the CGUE still motionless in its grip, the GuAIZ follows not far behind. As the GuAIZ gets closer, it retracts its extensional arrestor and takes a grip on the now empty GINN variant. Once all the units have been retrieved, the hatch in the bottom of the Eternal closes and it speeds up as it passes the Jachin Due asteroid base. It, again, leaves the soldiers within the base helplessly staring at it as it slowly disappears from their view.

The air space around PLANT and Jachin Due becomes quiet again as ZAFT is left with many unanswered questions. _How did they escape our prototype escort ship? How did they manage to get hold of one of our newest mass production models? How could they break through the troops sent out to intercept them from Jachin Due?_

Onboard the Eternal, Athrun and Regal open the hatch to the CGUE's cockpit. Inside, they find a girl hunched over the monitors, crying soundlessly. Guilt suddenly fills Regal's heart, a different guilt from what he felt when the GINNs exploded in front of his eyes and taking their pilots with them; this guilt fills his heart with sorrow that he has never experienced before. "I'm sorry." Regal whispers at Rain softly and floats back down to the floor, unable to cope with the results of his thoughtless actions.


	4. Mixed Emotions

An hour passes by and Athrun finally brings Rain out of the cockpit. Rain is still crying and remains in Athrun's support even after they land on the floor of the Eternal. Regal disappears into the shadow as Athrun takes Rain past him and out of the hangar. He fears that Rain will collapse further if she was to see him now. Regal walks slowly to the canteen, making sure that he will not cross paths with Rain and Athrun on the way there. Reaching his destination, Regal goes over to the counter and asks the people there if there is any hot chocolate available. When someone nice enough tells him yes and shows him to it, he pleads that the kind person take the hot beverage to Rain for him. He also specifically requests that is name should not be mentioned, as Rain would surely not accept it. As the kind person heads off moaning that he is bossed around by a newcomer during his break, Regal sees him off feeling slightly awful inside. As he turns away to the counter to get some food for himself, he notices Andy and Kira standing by a doorway.

"Are you feeling better now, Rain?" Athrun asks gently as they enter one of the many sleeping quarters. Rain has stopped crying for a little while now although she is still feeling shattered. Athrun sits her on the bed and takes a seat for himself by the desk. "You should get some sleep. I know it's hard for you to accept what has just happened, but nothing is going change even if you keep crying. Maybe you should try to forget him…" Athrun has realized that she was in love with the guy who tried to kill her when they returned with her crying in the cockpit. Someone requests to enter.

"I heard that someone isn't too well. Here, drink this and get some sleep." He offers a cup of hot chocolate to Rain. "You'll feel a bit better when you wake up." Agreeing to the idea, Athrun asks him to leave the drink behind so he can return to his break. Rain continues remain silent with her head down.

"Please Rain, drink this and get some sleep. If you continue to stay like this, a lot of people will worry about you." Athrun takes the hot chocolate and holds it up to Rain with both hands. Rain finally looks up slightly and takes the drink. Sipping it slowly, she feels warmer inside as she does. After drinking all the hot chocolate, she lies on the bed and tries to sleep as Athrun suggested. Athrun leaves, feeling satisfied. As the door shuts behind Athrun, Rain opens her eyes. She is unable to sleep, every time she closes her eyes, the scene of Jeffrey trying to kill her through their mobile suits flashes past in her mind. Tears run across her face into the pillow as she stays like that for the endless moments before tiredness wins her over and puts her to sleep.

Andy has just lead Regal on a proper tour around the ship and takes him to an alleyway with glass panels facing out into space. Kira follows close behind them. "So how did it feel to have killed someone?" Andy asks casually.

"It was really quite terrible. Shock won me over when that first GINN exploded. The force of that explosion was like a wake up call for me. It told me someone was killed by me." Regal sighs and leans back against one of the panels. "It was completely different to the games I used to play in the arcades…"

"Of course it's different! This is real war!" Kira interrupts angrily. "War is NOT a game! If you think of it that way, I will not allow you to fight on our behalf!"

"I know! Why do you think I tried my best not to kill anyone after that first kill?" Regal yells back in response. "I think I will continue to fight though if you allow me. I want to protect people from getting hurt, physically and emotionally." He continues. "I don't want to see the expression I saw on Rain's face just now ever again. I don't want any more people to die from this war. It makes me feel guilty now that I'm a part of it."

"I'm glad to hear you say that." Athrun walks up to them from a different direction to the one they came from. "Your actions have begun to show their consequences; Rain is just that." Athrun continues as he stops next to Andy. "A hot chocolate isn't enough to redeem you from the situation you put her in, I can tell you that much."

"Did he say it was from me?! I told him not to…" Regal protested.

"He didn't, I guessed. I doubt Rain figured that out though, she drank it all." Athrun reassures him gently.

"That's good…" Regal murmurs to himself. "Is she still crying?"

"No, she stopped a while ago. She's trying to sleep now. Although I don't think she would be able to peacefully anytime soon." Athrun tells Regal with regret in his voice. "I think that it is better for her this way. At the moment, ZAFT is not waging war for its freedom. My father wants to dominate the world. Her friend wasn't someone worth having a relationship with either. That was apparent."

"I agree." Andy says coldly. "He tried to kill her, after all, even when she tried to explain." Anger can be noted from Andy's voice. "He's a disgrace to us men!" Kira and Athrun chuckle at Andy's comment.

"I guess you are right." Kira says and then turns to Regal.

"You know, the more I look at you, the more you look like someone I used to know. It's a shame he isn't with us anymore, or else I would introduce you to him. He was in my team before he was killed." Bitterness is projected from Athrun's voice. Kira's eyes sadden but Athrun pats him on the shoulder reassuring him.

"My cousin was also killed in war recently… His name was Nicol." Regal says, sharing the bitterness from Athrun's voice. Athrun looks surprised as he hears that name again.

"You're Nicol's cousin?! He never mentioned it when we were in a team!" Athrun exclaims; the surprise continues to stay in Athrun's expression and covers up the bitterness from a moment ago.

"Your friend was Nicol? I say, he must have been quite lucky to meet you. His gentle nature could have done with a good scolding when he first said he was joining the army." Regal says this with less surprise in his voice than Athrun. "Did he do well? I never got to see him again after he joined the army." Regal asks.

"He was, like me, a red coat. Although he disliked the war, he fulfilled his job well and was a great friend to me." Athrun says. Regret appears on his face as he struggles to bear the pain.

"Hey now you two, stop getting all emotional around me, I can't bear it! You two aren't the only people who lost someone you love in this conflict you know." Andy joins in the conversation with a slightly annoyed tone, hinting that Kira and himself are present. "The loss of your friend and your cousin is telling you to cherish what you have now! So leave the past behind, it won't come back even if you hold on to it with your life." Andy continues deeply. "I think that's enough chatting for the day, don't you? You three should get some rest. The battle must have tired you out by now. Especially you Regal, you haven't had any time to rest since you got on this ship!" Andy reasons with them both and begins to lead Regal away. "You as well, I need you to train Regal harder tomorrow. He won't be so lucky to survive next time."

"I'll do that then." Athrun replies. Kira nods, agreeing with Athrun. Regal and Andy turn away into another corner.

Andy takes Regal round a few turns before Andy finally says. "Alright, this will be your room for the time you are here. It's close enough to the canteen and hangar so you don't have to go far for either. I don't think you'll go anywhere often besides these two places." Andy turns away and walks off, waving as he does so. "Get some good sleep. We don't need you dozing off when battle comes along."

"Thank you, sir." Regal says politely. In the short distance, Regal can see that Andy didn't like being called 'sir' as he almost trips up at the word.

When Regal wakes up the next day, his sense of guilt has not subsided. He had dreamt about how the two GINNs exploded and how Rain cried so much in her cockpit. Regal exits the room to challenge the new day, forcing himself to look as cheerful as always. To his surprise, Rain gets out of the room adjacent to his and yawns whilst rubbing her eyes. Before she notices, Regal dodges back into his room to avoid unnecessary quarrels. Taking a deep breath, Regal silently waits for a few minutes for Rain to pass by; hoping that she didn't notice it was him. _Damn Andy! He must have known!_

Rain stands outside her door looking in the direction of Regal's room, not knowing that it was Regal, slightly confused by her neighbor's action. She is still considerably upset about what has happened but has decided that staying sad was not going to help anyone. She walks to the Canteen pass to get some food to eat; she is starving. The last meal she has had was over a day ago. Entering the canteen, she sees someone that she has not personally met before: Lacus Clyne, the pink-haired songstress, beside the Freedom pilot, Kira Yamato. She is slightly stunned when Lacus motions for her to come over to her. "Please take a seat. I heard about you from Andrew and Kira." Lacus's voice is as sweet as ever. "Do you still wish to return to the PLANTs?"

Rain answers after she sits down next to Lacus "I, I don't know…" Rain looks down warily. "I doubt they will take me back after yesterday's battle."

"I wish that you could stay here and help me. Both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT have been corrupted to the core; having either side winning this war will only mean more bloodshed against the other." Lacus tells Rain in a sad voice. "I'm glad that Regal took you aboard my ship. I think it has helped you realize something that you otherwise wouldn't have."

"…" Rain remains silent, being reminded of something she is so desperately trying to forget, as the songstress gets up and readies herself to leave.

"Please seriously consider staying with us, I would not like anyone to get hurt, especially not someone that I have met in person. I think Regal cares about you more than that pilot who tried to kill you; consider forgiving him." Lacus says her final words and leaves with Kira, giving Rain time to think it over by herself.

Regal leaves the room fifteen minutes after he saw Rain go to the canteen to make sure that she isn't returning for something she forgot. Deciding to skip the meal to avoid Rain, Regal leaves directly for the hangar. In there, he finds Athrun talking to a mechanic. He presumes that they are discussing something important and stands to the side. Once Athrun finishes, Regal walks to him and calls him.

"Hey, Athrun! I think I'm ready for training." Regal shouts, pretending to be high on spirit and energetic.

"Have you had something to eat?" Athrun asks. "No pilot ever enters a battle on an empty stomach you know."

"I've had a bit to eat, I'm ready." Regal says. His stomach suddenly starts to growl out aloud.

"That doesn't sound like you ate at all. Come on, let's go to the canteen." Athrun is annoyed that Regal dares to lie to him.

"No! Rain's in there! If I go now, she'll kill me!" Regal vigorously declines Athrun's offer.

"You've got to face her one day Regal, avoiding her won't solve the problem." Athrun begins to worry about them. "I think you should get this sorted out before we begin proper training."

"I want to give her more time to calm down. I don't want to see her in tears again." Regal tells Athrun honestly and looks down, guilty.

"You don't want to see who in tears?" A familiar girl's voice surprises Regal and he turns around to see Rain at the doorway. "There's no way you can avoid me here if I want to find you. So you were the weird guy who ran straight back into your own room when you saw me."

"Uh, well, umm…" Regal is speechless from the surprise and looks away. "I thought you may not have wanted to see me anytime soon after what happened yesterday." Regal's voice begins to soften.

"I really didn't. You can trust me on that, but I had a chat with Miss Clyne and she told me something which helped me get over it. I think I'll forgive you." Rain says hesitantly.

"Well, everything is for the best! I think it's time you begin to train, Regal" Athrun says pushing Regal towards the mobile suit.

"Hey, hey! Wait a minute, I thought we were going to go eat first!" Regal protests whilst resisting the push of Athrun.

"You said you ate right?" Athrun says secretly giggling behind Regal.

"Stop slacking Regal! Move it! You can't protect this ship with your skills, you'll get us all killed!" Rain follows behind Athrun and chuckles aloud.

Regal trains long hard hours each day as the Eternal heads for Mendel, where it will rendezvous with the Kusanagi and Archangel. His ability to pilot increases at an unbelievable rate, with his main focus on speed and melee. However, Regal's long-ranged combat skills leave much to be desired for. "I guess you're naturally no good with guns…" Kira says with a sigh. "It can't be helped." One can notice a slight disappointment in Kira's tone.

"Cheer up Kira! No one's perfect right?" Athrun tries to cheer him up.

"Although in our case, he is a BIT too far from it…" Rain says in a low, taunting tone turning towards Regal. This is the fifth day since Eternal escaped PLANT territories and the day that it is supposed to rendezvous with the Archangel.

"Attention, attention. We will soon be at the set rendezvous point. Please make sure that there are no abnormalities. We may be taking a few crewmen aboard our ship." The intercom hums slightly as the announcement is broadcasted.

"We're finally here!" Athrun says with a more than an obvious trace of excitement in is voice.

"Woohoo! More new people to meet!" Regal's excitement is even more obvious than Athrun's. "Are you going to stay with us for the duration of this war, Rain?" Regal calms down suddenly and asks.

"Well, I don't think I have a choice, thanks to you!" Rain says in a teasing voice. Not a single hint of anger is in her voice. She has accepted fate as it is in her hands.

Another hour passes and two white ships come into view from the hangar. One has a red base and looks like two shoes and the other can only be described by Regal as weird. "So which one is the Archangel? The blue one?" Regal asks curiously.

Rain makes a buzzing noise. "Wrong answer! That, if I didn't remember wrong, is ORB's flagship, the Izumo class, Kusanagi." Rain is proud with her knowledge in the military field, she being completely up to date with the technology deployed by each faction in the war. "Of course, that leaves the other, with a red and white colour scheme, as the Archangel. Anyone from the military on any faction should know that though."

"Wow, I guess you know your stuff…" Regal says, looking down, embarrassed by his mistake.

"Don't take it too hard Regal, it's hard for a PLANT civilian to know all this stuff. Especially with my father in charge…" Athrun says with extreme bitterness.

On the Archangel, the CIC, Miriallia Haw notices a ship entering the range of its radars. "Captain, a ship has appeared in our range. It's a battleship of an unknown class!"

"Could it be… Miss Clyne?" The female captain says. Just as she speaks, the ship receives a transmission.

"This is Andy Waltfeld and Lacus Clyne of the Eternal. Athrun is with us." Andy confirms that they are allies as the Eternal continues to close in on the two awaiting ships.

"An… Andrew Waltfeld?! How could that be?! He died in the desert, didn't he?" The person on the monitor stuns all the bridge crews of the Archangel.

"I survived. Now, back to business. ZAFT will most certainly have had a squad or two chase after us, we must be prepared." Andy concludes.

"Roger. We will relay the message to the Kusanagi and have both ships on yellow alert." Murrue Ramius, the captain, replies. The Eternal slowly aligns itself with the two other ships as men from all three ships prepare for redistribution among the three ships.


End file.
